Vehicle monitoring system

ABSTRACT

A vehicle monitoring system includes a central processor operable to receive data from multiple vehicles, with each of the multiple vehicles being equipped with a plurality of vision sensors, a plurality of non-vision sensors, and an ECU. The central processor is operable to wirelessly receive, from each of the multiple vehicles, vehicle data and environment data. Responsive to vehicle data and environment data received from the multiple vehicles, the central processor determines if one or more of the vehicles is at or approaching a hazardous condition. Responsive to the determination that one or more of the vehicles is a threatened vehicle at a potentially hazardous condition, the central monitoring system at least one of (i) actuates an alert of the threatened vehicle to alert a driver of that vehicle of the determined hazardous condition and (ii) controls a vehicle system of the threatened vehicle to mitigate the determined hazardous condition.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/561,794, filed Dec. 5, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,499,139,which claims the filing benefits of U.S. provisional application, Ser.No. 62/047,194, filed Sep. 8, 2014, and Ser. No. 61/912,146, filed Dec.5, 2013, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a sensor system for a vehicleand, more particularly, to vehicle sensor systems that are linked to acentral monitoring system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Communication systems for vehicles may provide for communication betweenvehicles and/or between a vehicle and a remote server. Examples of suchsystems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,580,795, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a central monitoring system that receivesinputs from vehicles (such as autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles)travelling on a road and inputs indicative of the environmentsurrounding the vehicle or vehicles and that communicates with a subjector monitored vehicle (automated or semi-automated driven) and othersurrounding vehicles in real-time to provide an additional level offault tolerance to the monitored vehicle travelling on a road.Responsive to the inputs, the central monitoring system determines ifthe monitored vehicle or vehicles are at or approaching a hazardouscondition. When it is determined that the monitored vehicle or vehiclesare in or at or approaching a potentially hazardous condition, thecentral monitoring system actuates an alert of the vehicle to alert thedriver or occupant of the hazard and/or actuates or controls a vehiclesystem (such as a brake system or steering system or collision avoidancesystem of the vehicle) to avoid or minimize the risk of the hazardoussituation. The vehicles communicate with the central monitoring systemsvia a wireless network or link, such as a 3G/4G network, V2Xcommunication system or high speed network. The system of the presentinvention also provides fault tolerant and reconfigurable systemarchitecture for an automated vehicle that communicates with the centralmonitoring system via a high speed redundant communication link toimprove the reliability and availability of the system to meet level 3and level 4 of automated driving with very little or no humanintervention.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of thepresent invention will become apparent upon review of the followingspecification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a vehicle and central monitoring system inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic showing operation of the central monitoring systemof the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a fault tolerant system architecture in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a diverse redundancy sensor configuration in accordance withthe present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a chart showing the sensor coverage areas of the vehiclesensors of the sensor configuration shown in FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A vehicle sensor system and/or driver assist system and/or alert systemoperates to communicate vehicle information to a central monitoringsystem, which receives information pertaining to the environment at orsurrounding the equipped vehicle or vehicles that are linked to thecentral monitoring system (FIG. 1). The vehicle-based components mayinclude one or more sensors, an automated or semi-automated controller,an internal safety monitoring system, one or more fault tolerantactuators (such as actuators of various vehicle systems, such as brakesystems, steering systems and/or the like) and one or more alert/warningsystems. The central monitoring system may receive an input from thevehicle controller or sensors or the like, and may receive an input fromanother source (that may provide information from other vehicles at ornear the subject or monitored vehicle) and may receive an inputpertaining to weather information, traffic information and/or the like,such as from the internet or the like. Responsive to the inputs, thecentral monitoring system may control or communicate a signal to controlthe actuators or the alert/warning system of the vehicle, such as whenthe inputs are indicative of the vehicle being in or approaching ahazardous condition or the like. The monitoring and alert/control systemof the present invention may utilize aspects of the systems described inU.S. Publication Nos. US 2012-0218412, published Aug. 30, 2012, US2012-0002743, published Mar. 15, 2012, and/or US 2013-0222592, publishedAug. 29, 2013, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

As the automotive industry is moving towards automated andsemi-automated vehicle technology as well as high speed connectivity, itis important to have an additional real-time safety monitoring system inplace so that it a system is provided for an additional externalmonitoring of the vehicles and is operable to take necessary safetyactions in case of system malfunction.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 2, equipped vehicles communicatewith the central monitoring system, which monitors the vehicle behaviorin real time along with environment information (map databaseinformation, traffic information, weather condition information).Responsive to a determination that one of the vehicles being monitoredis at or approaching a threat or hazardous condition (such as a trafficjam or accident or hazardous weather conditions or the like), the systemcontrols and commands the safety actuators installed in the threatenedvehicle or vehicles so that the driver of the vehicle or vehicles arealerted to the hazard and/or so that the vehicle is controlled and takessafety action (such as via control of a collision avoidance system orthe like of the vehicle).

As can be seen with reference to FIG. 2, during operation, all of thevehicles being monitored will transmit the safety critical parameters inreal time using a secure high speed network. Such safety criticalparameters may include, for example, vehicle longitudinal velocity,lateral velocity, longitudinal acceleration, lateral acceleration,intent to change lane (such as responsive to actuation of a turn signalindicator), system breakdown, location information (such as responsiveto a GPS system or the like), lane information (such as responsive to avision-based system of the vehicle or the like), objects and laneinformation determined by diverse redundancy sensors and/or the like.

A central server receives the signals from the vehicles. The centralserver has a monitoring software running in real time and monitoring theall the vehicles, with all connected vehicle data and map data base,traffic information, weather condition information and/or the like. Thecentral server has a powerful computation capability and is operable toprocess the real time data from all the connected vehicles map database, traffic information, weather condition information and the like.The central server is operable to monitor all of the connected or linkedvehicles.

In the event of the automated/semi-automated vehicle's malfunction, thecentral monitoring software will have all the information about theenvironment at which the vehicle is travelling. Thus, the central servermay control or command the safety alert/actuators installed in thevehicle or vehicles that may be in danger to alert the driver of thatvehicle or vehicles or to control one or more vehicle systems of thatvehicle or vehicles to take necessary safety action, such as to take adifferent route to avoid an accident or dangerous or extreme weatherconditions or the like.

The monitored vehicle may comprise an automated or autonomous orsemi-automated vehicle equipped with a high speed communication link aswell as a safety actuation/alert module, which is controlled by centralmonitoring software.

The vehicles communicate with the central monitoring systems via awireless network or link, such as a 3G/4G network or high speed network.The network may include a 3G/4G/High speed modem, which may be linked tothe automated or semi-automated controller and the safety actuators andalert device of the vehicle and the actuators, such as for controllingthe vehicle brakes, vehicle steering, torque control, warning and alertdevices of the vehicle.

The present invention has a significant potential in external safetymonitoring system for automated and semi-automated vehicles.

Optionally, the present invention may provide fault tolerant andreconfigurable system architecture for autonomous vehicles. Asautonomous vehicle are becoming reality, it is important to come up withfault tolerant reconfigurable system architecture to meet level 3 andlevel 4 of autonomy with very little or no human intervention.

For example, an autonomous vehicle may be equipped with diverseredundancy sensors to detect the environment in which vehicle isoperated (or may be responsive to communications from other transmittersor devices or components or systems, such as devices of vehicle toinfrastructure (v2x) communication systems or vehicle to vehicle (v2v)communication systems or the like). Diverse redundancy provides goodtolerance to common cause failure and also improves the availability ofthe system. Diverse redundancy sensors (such as shown in FIG. 4) mayinclude (a) a long range radar and a long range windshield camera withnight vision capability (see [1], [2] and [11] in FIG. 4), which detectand classify the long distance object in front of the vehicle, (b) along range lane change and a blind spot detection left camera and radar(see [4] and [5] in FIG. 4) and right camera and radar (see [7] and [8]in FIG. 4), which detect and classify the long distance object at thesides and back of the vehicle, (c) a v2x (and/or v2v) radio (see [9] inFIG. 4), which provides the real time information of the connectedvehicles around the equipped vehicle, which is a diverse redundancy ofdata extracted via vision or RADAR/LIDAR sensor and/or (d) a GPS enablede-Horizon module [13], which provides information on speed limit, exitand entry ramp location, curvature information, number of lanes and thelike, which is a diverse redundancy of data extracted via vision orradar sensor. As shown in FIG. 5, the coverage area around the vehiclemay have front long range area of less than about 140 meters ahead ofthe vehicle and a front short range area of less than about 30 metersahead of the vehicle. The side and rear short range areas covered by thesensors may be between around 15-20 meters sideward and/or rearward ofthe vehicle, while the rear long range area may be between about 70-130meters rearward of the vehicle.

Optionally, and such as shown in FIG. 3, the autonomous vehicle may beequipped with redundant power source to improve the availability of thesystem. Optionally, the autonomous vehicle may be equipped with a faulttolerant front and rear steering system with dual motor controlled EPSECU (Electronic Power Steering). When the front steering system ishealthy or fully functional, the autonomous controller may use only thefront steering system, but in the case of front steering system failure,the autonomous controller detects the failure and, using reconfigurablecontrol structure, starts controlling the rear steering and henceimproves the system availability. In applications having a frontsteering only system, a steering system failure could be handled by thebrake system of the vehicle and may to a certain extent improve theavailability of the system.

Optionally, the autonomous vehicle may be equipped with redundantcomputation modules and may be connected to a safety ECU, such as shownin FIG. 3. The redundant safety ECUs monitor the health or operation orfunctionality of the redundant computation module and control the safetyswitch to improve the availability of the system.

The system of the present invention monitors the health of computationand safety modules in real-time externally (remote from the vehicle orvehicles), and in the event of a malfunction or failure, actuates orcontrols the vehicle to minimize the risk of failure. In applications ofnon-autonomous vehicles, the system may alert the driver of the vehicleor activate the pre-collision preparation system in the vehicle tominimize the damage.

Because of the enhanced computation power to the central processingmodule (as compared to vehicle-based processors), complex andcomputational intensive control or monitoring algorithms can be executedin real time to perform the plausibility check and all safety checks ofthe control output, sensor input and actuator response of the vehicle.Because the central monitoring unit can monitor several vehiclessimultaneously, the cost of the vehicle could be kept low because thereis no need to install very high computation power hardware in eachvehicle.

The vehicle and vehicle sensor system and/or internal monitoring systemmay utilize one or more cameras or sensors. The camera or sensor maycomprise any suitable camera or sensor. Optionally, the camera maycomprise a “smart camera” that includes the imaging sensor array andassociated circuitry and image processing circuitry and electricalconnectors and the like as part of a camera module, such as by utilizingaspects of the vision systems described in International PublicationNos. WO 2013/081984 and/or WO 2013/081985, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

The system may include an image processor operable to process image datacaptured by the camera or cameras, such as for detecting objects orother vehicles or pedestrians or the like in the field of view of one ormore of the cameras. For example, the image processor may comprise anEyeQ2 or EyeQ3 image processing chip available from Mobileye VisionTechnologies Ltd. of Jerusalem, Israel, and may include object detectionsoftware (such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,855,755;7,720,580 and/or 7,038,577, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties), and may analyze image data to detectvehicles and/or other objects. Responsive to such image processing, andwhen an object or other vehicle is detected, the system may generate analert to the driver of the vehicle and/or may generate an overlay at thedisplayed image to highlight or enhance display of the detected objector vehicle, in order to enhance the driver's awareness of the detectedobject or vehicle or hazardous condition during a driving maneuver ofthe equipped vehicle.

The vehicle may include any type of sensor or sensors, such as imagingsensors or radar sensors or lidar sensors or ladar sensors or ultrasonicsensors or the like. The imaging sensor or camera may capture image datafor image processing and may comprise any suitable camera or sensingdevice, such as, for example, a two dimensional array of a plurality ofphotosensor elements arranged in at least 640 columns and 480 rows (atleast a 640×480 imaging array, such as a megapixel imaging array or thelike), with a respective lens focusing images onto respective portionsof the array. The photosensor array may comprise a plurality ofphotosensor elements arranged in a photosensor array having rows andcolumns. Preferably, the imaging array has at least 300,000 photosensorelements or pixels, more preferably at least 500,000 photosensorelements or pixels and more preferably at least 1 million photosensorelements or pixels. The imaging array may capture color image data, suchas via spectral filtering at the array, such as via an RGB (red, greenand blue) filter or via a red/red complement filter or such as via anRCC (red, clear, clear) filter or the like. The logic and controlcircuit of the imaging sensor may function in any known manner, and theimage processing and algorithmic processing may comprise any suitablemeans for processing the images and/or image data.

For example, the vision system and/or processing and/or camera and/orcircuitry may utilize aspects described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,005,974;5,760,962; 5,877,897; 5,796,094; 5,949,331; 6,222,447; 6,302,545;6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,523,964; 6,611,202; 6,201,642; 6,690,268;6,717,610; 6,757,109; 6,802,617; 6,806,452; 6,822,563; 6,891,563;6,946,978; 7,859,565; 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 6,636,258; 7,145,519;7,161,616; 7,230,640; 7,248,283; 7,295,229; 7,301,466; 7,592,928;7,881,496; 7,720,580; 7,038,577; 6,882,287; 5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772,and/or International Publication Nos. 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No. 13/653,577, filed Oct. 17, 2012, now U.S. Pat.No. 9,174,574, and/or Ser. No. 13/534,657, filed Jun. 27, 2012 andpublished Jan. 3, 2013 as U.S. Publication No. US-2013-0002873, whichare all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Thesystem may communicate with other communication systems via any suitablemeans, such as by utilizing aspects of the systems described inInternational Publication Nos. WO/2010/144900; WO 2013/043661 and/or WO2013/081985, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/202,005, filedAug. 17, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,126,525, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The imaging device and control and image processor and any associatedillumination source, if applicable, may comprise any suitablecomponents, and may utilize aspects of the cameras and vision systemsdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,877,897; 6,498,620; 5,670,935;5,796,094; 6,396,397; 6,806,452; 6,690,268; 7,005,974; 7,937,667;7,123,168; 7,004,606; 6,946,978; 7,038,577; 6,353,392; 6,320,176;6,313,454 and/or 6,824,281, and/or International Publication Nos. WO2010/099416; WO 2011/028686 and/or WO 2013/016409, and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/508,840, filed Jul. 24, 2009, and published Jan.28, 2010 as U.S. Pat. Publication No. US 2010-0020170, and/or U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/534,657, filed Jun. 27, 2012 andpublished Jan. 3, 2013 as U.S. Publication No. US-2013-0002873, whichare all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Thecamera or cameras may comprise any suitable cameras or imaging sensorsor camera modules, and may utilize aspects of the cameras or sensorsdescribed in U.S. Publication No. US-2009-0244361 and/or U.S. Pat. Nos.8,542,451; 7,965,336 and/or 7,480,149, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties. The imaging array sensor maycomprise any suitable sensor, and may utilize various imaging sensors orimaging array sensors or cameras or the like, such as a CMOS imagingarray sensor, a CCD sensor or other sensors or the like, such as thetypes described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,760,962;5,715,093; 5,877,897; 6,922,292; 6,757,109; 6,717,610; 6,590,719;6,201,642; 6,498,620; 5,796,094; 6,097,023; 6,320,176; 6,559,435;6,831,261; 6,806,452; 6,396,397; 6,822,563; 6,946,978; 7,339,149;7,038,577; 7,004,606; 7,720,580 and/or 7,965,336, and/or InternationalPublication Nos. WO/2009/036176 and/or WO/2009/046268, which are allhereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The camera module and circuit chip or board and imaging sensor may beimplemented and operated in connection with various vehicularvision-based systems, and/or may be operable utilizing the principles ofsuch other vehicular systems, such as a vehicle headlamp control system,such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,796,094; 6,097,023;6,320,176; 6,559,435; 6,831,261; 7,004,606; 7,339,149 and/or 7,526,103,which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, a rain sensor, such as the types disclosed in commonlyassigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,353,392; 6,313,454; 6,320,176 and/or7,480,149, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, a vehicle vision system, such as a forwardly, sidewardly orrearwardly directed vehicle vision system utilizing principles disclosedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,760,962; 5,877,897; 5,949,331;6,222,447; 6,302,545; 6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,523,964; 6,611,202;6,201,642; 6,690,268; 6,717,610; 6,757,109; 6,802,617; 6,806,452;6,822,563; 6,891,563; 6,946,978 and/or 7,859,565, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties, a trailer hitchingaid or tow check system, such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.7,005,974, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety, a reverse or sideward imaging system, such as for a lanechange assistance system or lane departure warning system or for a blindspot or object detection system, such as imaging or detection systems ofthe types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,881,496; 7,720,580; 7,038,577;5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, a video device for internal cabinsurveillance and/or video telephone function, such as disclosed in U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,760,962; 5,877,897; 6,690,268 and/or 7,370,983, and/or U.S.Publication No. US-2006-0050018, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, a traffic sign recognition system, asystem for determining a distance to a leading or trailing vehicle orobject, such as a system utilizing the principles disclosed in U.S. Pat.Nos. 6,396,397 and/or 7,123,168, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, and/or the like.

Optionally, the circuit board or chip may include circuitry for theimaging array sensor and or other electronic accessories or features,such as by utilizing compass-on-a-chip or EC driver-on-a-chip technologyand aspects such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,255,451 and/or7,480,149 and/or U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008 and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/578,732, filed Oct. 14, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No.9,487,144, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Optionally, the vision system may include a display for displayingimages captured by one or more of the imaging sensors for viewing by thedriver of the vehicle while the driver is normally operating thevehicle. Optionally, for example, the vision system may include a videodisplay device disposed at or in the interior rearview mirror assemblyof the vehicle, such as by utilizing aspects of the video mirror displaysystems described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,268 and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/333,337, filed Dec. 21, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.9,264,672, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. The video mirror display may comprise any suitable devicesand systems and optionally may utilize aspects of the compass displaysystems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,370,983; 7,329,013; 7,308,341;7,289,037; 7,249,860; 7,004,593; 4,546,551; 5,699,044; 4,953,305;5,576,687; 5,632,092; 5,677,851; 5,708,410; 5,737,226; 5,802,727;5,878,370; 6,087,953; 6,173,508; 6,222,460; 6,513,252 and/or 6,642,851,and/or European patent application, published Oct. 11, 2000 underPublication No. EP 0 1043566, and/or U.S. Publication No.US-2006-0061008, which are all hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties. Optionally, the video mirror display screen ordevice may be operable to display images captured by a rearward viewingcamera of the vehicle during a reversing maneuver of the vehicle (suchas responsive to the vehicle gear actuator being placed in a reversegear position or the like) to assist the driver in backing up thevehicle, and optionally may be operable to display the compass headingor directional heading character or icon when the vehicle is notundertaking a reversing maneuver, such as when the vehicle is beingdriven in a forward direction along a road (such as by utilizing aspectsof the display system described in International Publication No. WO2012/051500, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety).

Optionally, the vision system (utilizing the forward facing camera and arearward facing camera and other cameras disposed at the vehicle withexterior fields of view) may be part of or may provide a display of atop-down view or birds-eye view system of the vehicle or a surround viewat the vehicle, such as by utilizing aspects of the vision systemsdescribed in International Publication Nos. WO 2010/099416; WO2011/028686; WO 2012/075250; WO 2013/019795; WO 2012/075250; WO2012/145822; WO 2013/081985; WO 2013/086249 and/or WO 2013/109869,and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/333,337, filed Dec. 21, 2011,now U.S. Pat. No. 9,264,672, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

Optionally, a video mirror display may be disposed rearward of andbehind the reflective element assembly and may comprise a display suchas the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,240; 6,329,925;7,855,755; 7,626,749; 7,581,859; 7,446,650; 7,370,983; 7,338,177;7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190; 5,668,663; 5,724,187 and/or6,690,268, and/or in U.S. Publication Nos. US-2006-0061008 and/orUS-2006-0050018, which are all hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties. The display is viewable through the reflectiveelement when the display is activated to display information. Thedisplay element may be any type of display element, such as a vacuumfluorescent (VF) display element, a light emitting diode (LED) displayelement, such as an organic light emitting diode (OLED) or an inorganiclight emitting diode, an electroluminescent (EL) display element, aliquid crystal display (LCD) element, a video screen display element orbacklit thin film transistor (TFT) display element or the like, and maybe operable to display various information (as discrete characters,icons or the like, or in a multi-pixel manner) to the driver of thevehicle, such as passenger side inflatable restraint (PSIR) information,tire pressure status, and/or the like. The mirror assembly and/ordisplay may utilize aspects described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,184,190;7,255,451; 7,446,924 and/or 7,338,177, which are all hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties. The thicknesses and materialsof the coatings on the substrates of the reflective element may beselected to provide a desired color or tint to the mirror reflectiveelement, such as a blue colored reflector, such as is known in the artand such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,910,854; 6,420,036 and/or7,274,501, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Optionally, the display or displays and any associated user inputs maybe associated with various accessories or systems, such as, for example,a tire pressure monitoring system or a passenger air bag status or agarage door opening system or a telematics system or any other accessoryor system of the mirror assembly or of the vehicle or of an accessorymodule or console of the vehicle, such as an accessory module or consoleof the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,289,037; 6,877,888;6,824,281; 6,690,268; 6,672,744; 6,386,742 and/or 6,124,886, and/or U.S.Publication No. US-2006-0050018, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments canbe carried out without departing from the principles of the invention,which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appendedclaims, as interpreted according to the principles of patent lawincluding the doctrine of equivalents.

1. A vehicle monitoring system, said vehicle monitoring systemcomprising: a central processor operable to receive data from multiplevehicles; wherein each of the multiple vehicles is equipped with aplurality of vision sensors and a plurality of non-vision sensors;wherein said plurality of vision sensors comprises (i) at least oneforward viewing camera, (ii) at least one sideward viewing camera and(iii) at least one rearward viewing camera; wherein said plurality ofnon-vision sensors comprises at least one of (a) a radar sensor and (b)a LIDAR sensor; wherein each of the multiple vehicles is equipped withan electronics control unit (ECU); wherein image data captured by saidplurality of vision sensors of each of the multiple vehicles is providedto the ECU of the respective one of the multiple vehicles; whereinsensor data sensed by said plurality of non-vision sensors of each ofthe multiple vehicles is provided to the ECU of the respective one ofthe multiple vehicles; wherein image data and sensor data provided tothe ECU of each of the multiple vehicles is processed at that ECU todetect and classify objects external to the respective one of themultiple vehicles; wherein said central processor is operable towirelessly receive, from each of the multiple vehicles, vehicle dataindicative of operation of the respective one of the multiple vehiclesand environment data indicative of the environment in which therespective one of the multiple vehicles is operating; wherein,responsive to vehicle data and environment data wirelessly received atsaid central processor from the multiple vehicles, said centralprocessor determines if one or more of the multiple vehicles is at orapproaching a hazardous condition; and wherein, responsive to thedetermination that one or more of the multiple vehicles is a threatenedvehicle at a potentially hazardous condition, said central monitoringsystem at least one of (i) actuates an alert of the threatened vehicleto alert a driver of the threatened vehicle of the determined hazardouscondition and (ii) controls a vehicle system of the threatened vehicleto mitigate the determined hazardous condition.
 2. The vehiclemonitoring system of claim 1, wherein at least some of the multiplevehicles are equipped with a GPS-enabled e-Horizon.
 3. The vehiclemonitoring system of claim 2, wherein each of the multiple vehicles is asemi-autonomous vehicle.
 4. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 2,wherein the GPS-enabled e-Horizon of the respective vehicle provides tothe respective vehicle environment data related to at least one of (i) aspeed limit, (ii) an exit ramp location, (iii) an entry ramp location,(iv) road curvature information and (v) lanes.
 5. The vehicle monitoringsystem of claim 1, wherein, responsive to the determination that one ormore of the multiple vehicles is a threatened vehicle at a potentiallyhazardous condition, said central monitoring system actuates an alert ofthe threatened vehicle to alert a driver of the threatened vehicle ofthe determined hazardous condition.
 6. The vehicle monitoring system ofclaim 1, wherein, responsive to the determination that one or more ofthe multiple vehicles is a threatened vehicle at a potentially hazardouscondition, said central monitoring system controls a vehicle system ofthe threatened vehicle to mitigate the determined hazardous condition.7. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 6, wherein said vehicle systemcomprises at least one of (i) a brake system, (ii) a steering system,(iii) a torque control and (iv) a collision avoidance system.
 8. Thevehicle monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the environment datacomprises at least one of (i) map information, (ii) traffic informationand (iii) weather condition information.
 9. The vehicle monitoringsystem of claim 1, wherein the vehicle data comprises at least one of(i) vehicle longitudinal velocity, (ii) vehicle lateral velocity, (iii)vehicle longitudinal acceleration, (iv) vehicle lateral acceleration and(v) actuation of a turn signal indicator of the respective vehicle. 10.The vehicle monitoring system of claim 1, wherein each of the multiplevehicles includes a vehicle-to-infrastructure communication system thatis operable to communicate data to said central processor.
 11. Thevehicle monitoring system of claim 1, wherein at least one of themultiple vehicles comprises a semi-autonomous vehicle.
 12. The vehiclemonitoring system of claim 11, wherein, responsive to a determinationthat the semi-autonomous vehicle is a threatened vehicle at apotentially hazardous condition, said central monitoring system controlsat least one vehicle system of the semi-autonomous threatened vehicle tomitigate the determined hazardous condition.
 13. A vehicle monitoringsystem, said vehicle monitoring system comprising: a central processoroperable to receive data from multiple vehicles; wherein each of themultiple vehicles is equipped with a plurality of vision sensors and aplurality of non-vision sensors; wherein said plurality of visionsensors of each of the multiple vehicles comprises (i) at least oneforward viewing camera viewing exterior the respective one of themultiple vehicles through a windshield of that vehicle, (ii) at leastone sideward viewing camera mounted at a left side portion of therespective one of the multiple vehicles and at least one sidewardviewing camera mounted at a right side portion of the respective one ofthe multiple vehicles and (iii) at least one rearward viewing cameramounted at a rear portion of the respective one of the multiplevehicles; wherein said plurality of non-vision sensors of each of themultiple vehicles comprises at least (a) a radar sensor mounted at aleft side portion of the respective one of the multiple vehicles, (b) aradar sensor mounted at a right side portion of the respective one ofthe multiple vehicles and (c) a radar sensor mounted at a front portionof the respective one of the multiple vehicles; wherein each of themultiple vehicles is equipped with an electronics control unit (ECU);wherein image data captured by said plurality of vision sensors of eachof the multiple vehicles is provided to the ECU of the respective one ofthe multiple vehicles; wherein sensor data sensed by said plurality ofnon-vision sensors of each of the multiple vehicles is provided to theECU of the respective one of the multiple vehicles; wherein image dataand sensor data provided to the ECU of each of the multiple vehicles isprocessed at that ECU to detect and classify objects external to therespective one of the multiple vehicles; wherein said central processoris operable to wirelessly receive, from each of the multiple vehicles,vehicle data indicative of operation of the respective one of themultiple vehicles and environment data indicative of the environment inwhich the respective one of the multiple vehicles is operating; wherein,responsive to vehicle data and environment data wirelessly received atsaid central processor from the multiple vehicles, said centralprocessor determines if one or more of the multiple vehicles is at orapproaching a hazardous condition; wherein the environment datacomprises at least one of (i) map information, (ii) traffic informationand (iii) weather condition information; and wherein the vehicle datacomprises at least one of (i) vehicle longitudinal velocity, (ii)vehicle lateral velocity, (iii) vehicle longitudinal acceleration, (iv)vehicle lateral acceleration and (v) actuation of a turn signalindicator of the respective vehicle.
 14. The vehicle monitoring systemof claim 13, wherein, responsive to the determination that one or moreof the multiple vehicles is a threatened vehicle at a potentiallyhazardous condition, said central monitoring system actuates an alert ofthe threatened vehicle to alert a driver of the threatened vehicle ofthe determined hazardous condition.
 15. The vehicle monitoring system ofclaim 13, wherein, responsive to the determination that one or more ofthe multiple vehicles is a threatened vehicle at a potentially hazardouscondition, said central monitoring system controls a vehicle system ofthe threatened vehicle to mitigate the determined hazardous condition.16. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 15, wherein said vehiclesystem comprises at least one of (i) a brake system, (ii) a steeringsystem, (iii) a torque control and (iv) a collision avoidance system.17. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 13, wherein each of themultiple vehicles includes a vehicle-to-infrastructure communicationsystem that is operable to communicate data to said central processorand wherein at least one of the multiple vehicles comprises asemi-autonomous vehicle.
 18. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 13,wherein at least some of the multiple vehicles are equipped with aGPS-enabled e-Horizon, and wherein the GPS-enabled e-Horizon of therespective vehicle provides to the respective vehicle environment datarelated to at least one of (i) a speed limit, (ii) an exit ramplocation, (iii) an entry ramp location, (iv) road curvature informationand (v) lanes.
 19. A vehicle monitoring system, said vehicle monitoringsystem comprising: a central processor operable to receive data frommultiple vehicles; wherein each of the multiple vehicles is equippedwith a plurality of vision sensors and a plurality of non-visionsensors; wherein said plurality of vision sensors of each of themultiple vehicles comprises (i) at least one forward viewing cameraviewing exterior the respective one of the multiple vehicles through awindshield of that vehicle, (ii) at least one sideward viewing cameramounted at a left side portion of the respective one of the multiplevehicles and at least one sideward viewing camera mounted at a rightside portion of the respective one of the multiple vehicles and (iii) atleast one rearward viewing camera mounted at a rear portion of therespective one of the multiple vehicles; wherein said plurality ofnon-vision sensors of each of the multiple vehicles comprises at least(a) a radar sensor mounted at a left side portion of the respective oneof the multiple vehicles, (b) a radar sensor mounted at a right sideportion of the respective one of the multiple vehicles and (c) a radarsensor mounted at a front portion of the respective one of the multiplevehicles; wherein at least some of the multiple vehicles are equippedwith a GPS-enabled e-Horizon; wherein each of the multiple vehicles isequipped with an electronics control unit (ECU); wherein image datacaptured by said plurality of vision sensors of each of the multiplevehicles is provided to the ECU of the respective one of the multiplevehicles; wherein sensor data sensed by said plurality of non-visionsensors of each of the multiple vehicles is provided to the ECU of therespective one of the multiple vehicles; wherein image data and sensordata provided to the ECU of each of the multiple vehicles is processedat that ECU to detect and classify objects external to the respectiveone of the multiple vehicles; wherein said central processor is operableto wirelessly receive, from each of the multiple vehicles, vehicle dataindicative of operation of the respective one of the multiple vehiclesand environment data indicative of the environment in which therespective one of the multiple vehicles is operating; wherein,responsive to vehicle data and environment data wirelessly received atsaid central processor from the multiple vehicles, said centralprocessor determines if one or more of the multiple vehicles is at orapproaching a hazardous condition; wherein the environment datacomprises at least one of (i) map information, (ii) traffic informationand (iii) weather condition information; and wherein the vehicle datacomprises at least one of (i) vehicle longitudinal velocity, (ii)vehicle lateral velocity, (iii) vehicle longitudinal acceleration, (iv)vehicle lateral acceleration and (v) actuation of a turn signalindicator of the respective vehicle.
 20. The vehicle monitoring systemof claim 19, wherein said plurality of non-vision sensors comprises aLIDAR sensor.
 21. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 20, wherein,responsive to the determination that one or more of the multiplevehicles is a threatened vehicle at a potentially hazardous condition,said central monitoring system actuates an alert of the threatenedvehicle to alert a driver of the threatened vehicle of the determinedhazardous condition.
 22. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 20,wherein, responsive to the determination that one or more of themultiple vehicles is a threatened vehicle at a potentially hazardouscondition, said central monitoring system controls a vehicle system ofthe threatened vehicle to mitigate the determined hazardous condition.23. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 22, wherein said vehiclesystem comprises at least one of (i) a brake system, (ii) a steeringsystem, (iii) a torque control and (iv) a collision avoidance system.24. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 20, wherein each of themultiple vehicles includes a vehicle-to-infrastructure communicationsystem that is operable to communicate data to said central processorand wherein at least one of the multiple vehicles comprises asemi-autonomous vehicle.
 25. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 20,wherein the GPS-enabled e-Horizon of the respective vehicle provides tothe respective vehicle environment data related to at least one of (i) aspeed limit, (ii) an exit ramp location, (iii) an entry ramp location,(iv) road curvature information and (v) lanes.